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Volleyball Season Comes to a Close in League Tournament
Nov. 15, 2007
MILWAUKEE - The ninth-seeded Green Bay volleyball team was unable to overcome a 30-25 loss in the pivotal third game Thursday night, and fell to eighth-seeded Loyola 3 games to 1 in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament. Green Bay was 0-15 this year when it lost game three and went 6-5 when winning the third game. Loyola (9-20) defeated Green Bay (6-20) in all three meetings on the year, this time by a 22-30, 30-24, 25-30, 28-30 final. The Ramblers advance to play top-seeded Milwaukee in the quarterfinals Friday night. The Phoenix fell behind 13-1 in game one, but battled back to cut the deficit to five late in the game. However, Green Bay couldn't pull off the monumental comeback, and dropped a 30-22 decision. The momentum gained late in the first game did help the Phoenix secure game two. Green Bay scored eight of the first 10 points and never looked back to even the contest. Loyola tallied the first point of game three and stayed ahead of Green Bay throughout. Green Bay was within stroking distance at 28-25, but Loyola won the final two points to regain the advantage. Remarkably, there was just one tie and zero lead changes in the match's first three games. The fourth game was easily the most competitive, as it featured 15 ties and four lead changes. With the match all square at 28-28, Green Bay's Megan Elfering (Bristol, Wis.) had a service error that gave Loyola the lead. The Ramblers capitalized on their opportunity on the next play, when Keily Zins pounded the game-winning kill to end the Phoenix's season. Betty Slinger (Faribault, Minn.) closed a storied career with her second triple-double of the season and the 16th of her career. She posted 46 assists, 15 digs and 10 kills, while hitting .360. Nikki Hintze (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) matched her career high with 19 kills and collected 21 digs to corral her 13th double-double in the season's final 18 matches. On the evening, Loyola had a .189 attack percentage, while Green Bay hit .117. It was the final game for Green Bay's two seniors--Slinger and Leah Steinbauer (Medford, Minn.). --www.uwgbathletics.com-- |
